Ammunition packing-case



J. S. PEOPLES. AMMUNITION PACKING CASE.

APPLlCATlON FILED NOV-29.1918.

1,373,385 Patented Mar. 29, 1921.

avvuemto zy%i w UNTEE STATES earner series.

JOHN S. PEOPLES, OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY.

AMMUNITION PACKING-CASE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 29, 1921.

Application filed November 29, 1918. Serial No. 264,689.

(FILED UNDER THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1883, 22 STAT. L, 625.)

To all whom it may concern:

to ammunition containers of the drum feed type, especially adapted for loaded machine gun belts.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of a simple and effective container for rolled loaded machine gun belts which may be readily knocked down "for shipment prior to filling, and which will be so inexpensive to manufacture that it may be generally discarded after use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a packing case for loaded machine gun belts, in which the ammunition may be packed for transportation or storage, means being provided on the case for engagement with the tripod of the machine gun' so that the ammunition belt may be fed directly from the container to the gun without the necessity of rehandling. 7

Another object of the invention is to provide an ammunition packing case which may be readily sealed against moisture, to properly protect the contents when the case is exposed to the weather, and which sealing means will be of such character as not to interfere with the desired rapid accessibility of the contents. 7

Still another object of my device is to provide my container with means adapted to reduce the friction of the belt when being fed therefrom to the machine gun, thus to .assist in the steady and uninterrupted action of the gun.

With the foregoing and other important objects in view, my invention comprises the fully described, illustrated in the annexed drawings, and pointed out more specifically 1n the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the assembled container, shown in its sealed condition, a portion of one of the side plates being broken away for clearn'ess' of illustration.

Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of the sealed i container.

Fig. 3 is a detail view of the inside face ofone of the side plates.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the container. -Referring now to the drawings, my container comprises a pair of similar substantially rectangular side plates 10 and 10, preferably formed of wood, between which are clamped a cylindrical wall'band 11,,

each of the side plates being provided on their inner faces with circular grooves 12 adapted to receive the wall band, the plates being drawn inwardly on each side of the wall band by means of a plurality of twisted Wires 13, passing through perforations 14 adjacent the corners of the side plates. Wall band .11 is preferably formed of one elongated strip of sheet metal rolled to the desired diameter, and having the meeting. ends thereof positioned adjacent one of the upper corners of the case. One end of the band, which for convenience may be termed the lower end, is turned outwardly to form a transverse abutment 18 and back upon itself to form a transverse lip 18, spaced outward from the wall band. The opposite, or upper end ofthe band is turned outwardly to form a transverse abutment 16, and a transverse lip 16 is turned downwardly therefrom to abut against lip 18, on the opposite end of the strip.

A sealing handle, such as 17 is engaged to band 11, said handle comprising a pair of spaced apart ears 20 which are riveted to lip 16 of theupper end. Between'the ears an upwardly extending tongue .19 is positioned, said tongue being adapted to engage the outer face of abutment 18 between lip 18 and the body band to force the end of the band upward toward the abutment wall 16 on the opposite end of band 11, when the handle 17 is in its lowest or locked position, as is shown in full lines in Fig. 1. It will be understood that handle 17 is engaged in place on lip 18 before the lips 18 and 16 are bent downward, so that when this last named operation is effected tongue 19 will be engaged between the overturned lip 18 and band 11. In order to hold handle 17 against band 11, an elongated slot 22 is provided in the handle to receive therethrough a pivoted wing nut 21 loosely riveted to band 11 at 23. A turned-up finger hold 24L is provided on the outer end of handle 17, by means of which the handle may be actuated, especially for use when breaking the seal.

The means for sealing of the container against moisture comprises the insertion of a strip of waterproofing material, such as rubber, asphalted paper, or the like, between the abutments 18 and 16 when the joint is being closed. Strips of packing material or circular gaskets 30 are also inserted in each of the circular grooves 12 before drawing side plates 10 and 10 inwardly against the edges of the cylindrical wall band 11, thus effectively sealing the joints in the container body.

The container may be opened for use by the releasing of handle 17 which is effected by rotating wing nut 21 to a position where it will register with slot 22, whereupon handle 17 may be swung upward to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, the metallic wall band being bent at 15. The side plates 10 and 10 are cut away at 25 to the depth of the grooves 12, to allow for such movement. The lower end of band 11 is also bent outward and downward to form a curved guide way for the machine gun belt when the same is engaged with the machine gun in a well-known manner, such position of the lower end of band 11 being indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, side plates 10 and 10 being cut away from line 26 upward to allow for such movement, the cutaway portion between 26 and 25 being in the plane of the depth of grooves 12.

In order to facilitate the feed of the machine gun belt from the container, apair of spaced apart annular beads 32 and 31 are carried on the inner face of wall band 11, bead 32 being preferably of smaller inside diameter than bead 31, the former bead being positioned to engage the nose of the cartridges in the rolled belt. while bead 31 is adapted to engage the body of the cartridge which is of greater diameter than the nose. The fabric cartridge belt is thus positioned between the aforesaid beads and out'of position where it may contact with the wall band and impede the rapid feed of the ammunition to the gun.

To provide for manual transportation of the case from place to place, a handle 27 is supplied the ends of which may be conveniently attached to the pair of twisted wires 13 situated at the top of the case.

The lower front corners of the case are cut away, as indicated at 28, to accommodate the case to the tripod of a machine gun not shown, and grooves 29 are formed in the side plates of the case to receive the vertical flanges of the ammunition case bracket of a tripod.

In bringing the container into use on a machine gun, the wing nut 21 is swung to register with the slot 22, the fingers inserted beneath the turned-up finger hold 24 and the handle 17 drawn to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The lower end of the wall band is then bent over to form a roll over which the belt may be led and the belt fed to the machine gun in the usual and well known manner.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new is 1. An ammunition packing case, including side plates, a cylindrical wall band between the side plates, the ends of said band being bent so as to overlap and form a closed cylinder, means engaging the plates for clamping the plates in position against the wall band and an auxiliary closure for the wall band operable to bend back one end of the band and thereby afford access to the interior of the case.

2. An ammunition packing case, including side plates, acylindrical wall band clamped between the plates, the band divided transversely to provide abutting ends, a handle rigidly secured to one end of the band and a locking element attached to the other end of the band and normally engaging the handle to lock the band in closed cylindrical position and releasable to allow the handle to bend back said end of the band and thereby permit access to the interior of the case.

3. An ammunition packing case, including side plates, a cylindrical wall band clamped between the plates, spaced beads extending longitudinally of the band and means for opening the band to permit ac: cess to the interior of the case.

4:- An ammunition case, including side plates, a cylindrical wall band clamped between the plates, spaced beads extending longitudinally of the band, the inside diameterof one of the beads greater than that of the other and manual means for opening the band whereby access to the interior of the case may be had.

5. An ammunition case, including side plates and a cylindrical wall band clamped etween the plates, the band divided transversely to provide abutting ends, one of said ends bendable outwardly and downwardly to provide a rolled edgeover which a car tridge-belt may be fed.

6. An ammunition packing case, including side plates having circular grooves formed therein and cut-away portions communicating with the grooves, a divided wall band clamped between the plates with its longitudinal edges in the grooves, the ends of the band positioned in the cut-away portions whereby the ends of the band may be bent outwardly to open the case and means for clamping the plates against the band.

7 An ammunition packing case, including side plates, a cylindrical wall band clamped between the side plates, the lower end of the band turned outwardly to form a transverse abutment, and bent back upon itself to form a lip spaced outward from the band, the upper end of the band turned outward to form an abutment and means secured to the upper end of the band and engageable between the lip and the band to clamp the abutment ends together.

8. An ammunition case, including side plates and a cylindrical wall band clamped between the plates, the ends of said band overlapping so as to form a closed cylinder, a handle secured to one end of the band for releasably locking the band in closed posi tion and adapted to bend back said end of the band to permit access to the interior of the case, the other end of said band being bendable outwardly and downwardly to provide a curved guide over which a cartridge belt may be fed.

JOHN S. PEOPLES. 

